


nothing; no one.

by damnmysterytome



Series: let her stay dead [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6667219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnmysterytome/pseuds/damnmysterytome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr Prompt: Frank was away and upon returning to Hell's Kitchen he learns two things; Karen is presumed dead, and Daredevil was involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	nothing; no one.

Karen’s apartment is exactly the same as Frank remembers, dark and mostly empty. There’s not a lot of furniture, just what she needs. There’s dishes piling up in the sink, a jacket hanging on a chair, her laptop open and papers spread along the table. Frank picks up the papers, a thick layer of dust on them. The apartment looks like she just up and left one day.

“Who are you?” A small voice asks from the door. Frank turns around and sees a small child, probably ten years old, stepping into Karen’s apartment.

“Frank,” He says softly, taking a few steps over to the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Lucy.”

Frank gives her a small smile and he kneels down so he’s at her eye level, holding out his hand to shake hers. Lucy smiles and takes Frank’s hand. “Do you know who lives here?” He asks.

“Ms. Karen. She used to watch me when I was a kid.”

“Used to?”

“Lucy, what are you doing in – who are you?” Frank looks up at a woman who looks just like Lucy but older and he stands to his feet, holding up both hands. The woman puts her hands on Lucy’s shoulders and pulls her back.

He doesn’t know if she recognizes him, he quickly answers her question. “I’m looking for Karen Page.”

The womans face softens immediately and she sighs. “Come with me,” She says softly, stepping back into the hallway. Frank follows her into the hallway, shutting Karen’s door behind him. He follows her down to another apartment a few doors down. “Go play, Luce.” She says to her daughter.

Luce runs off towards the back of the apartment and her mother pulls out a binder from the living room. “I’m Frank,” He says.

“Melissa.” She says as she nods to the couch. Frank moves over to the couch slowly and sits down on the edge of it. “How did you know Karen?”

 _Did. Used to._ The words create a sense of dread in Frank’s gut and he clears his throat. “Uh, she helped me out with some stuff.” She hands him a binder and he flips through it. It’s all about Karen’s disappearance.

“The last time I saw her was about seven years ago.” Melissa explains. He flips through the articles, not really reading them until he gets to the last page about Karen being presumed dead, her parents having her declared dead. An empty casket was buried in the cemetery. Seven years, just about the same time that it’s been since he’s left Hell’s Kitchen. His stomach churns.

“Did they figure out what happened?” He asks.

“No, I blame the Devil. Last time I saw her, he was with her. And she looked scared.” He knows what she means when she says the Devil. The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Murdock.

“Do you think she’s dead?”

“I think there’s no way Karen would have up and left like that. Either she was forced or she’s… I hope one day there’s a real answer to that question.”

Frank chews on the inside of his lip, looking down at the picture of Karen. It’s a faded photo but he can make out her features perfectly. “Thank you.” Frank says, shutting the binder. He doesn’t ask Melissa why she has a binder full of articles about Karen. “Can I take this? I’ll bring it back, I just have some questions for a friend.”

* * *

Frank’s waiting for Matt Murdock when he comes home, sitting in one of his chairs. He’s just getting off work from his day job, stopping in his living room when he senses that there’s another person in the room. “Frank.”

“Where is she?”

“Don’t you think if I knew that, she’d be here?” Matt says, turning to face Frank.

Frank looks up at him, letting out a scoff. He sniffs and sits up a bit, pressing his fingers together. “Did you even look for her or did you just hop on the ‘Karen Page has run off’ train right away?”

“I looked for her for  _months_.” Matt snaps. “While  _you_  were gone  _killing_ , I searched for Karen every day for months.”

“Hey, man, you knew how to get a hold of me. You could have called.” Frank stands to his feet and with two steps he’s right in front of Matt. “You didn’t. Instead  _you_  probably got her killed and for what? For  _what!?”_ Frank shouts. “What was so important that it was worth her life?!”

Frank’s hands are wrapped around Matt’s shirt as he’s in his face, desperate to find any answer. He’s answerless again, and he doesn’t know how to handle it.

“Human trafficking. Karen was hunting down a story and I was just… I was trying to help her.” Matt says. “No matter how much Karen was warned by people to stay out of it and back off, she wouldn’t stop. You remember Karen, she didn’t take anyones advice, she barely took my help.”

Frank lets go of Matt’s shirt and drops his hands, shaking his head. “You should have called.”

* * *

Frank stares down at the headstone stuck in the ground, despite the fact that there’s no body buried in there. KAREN PAGE. With a birth date, something he didn’t even know about her, and 'beloved daughter’ written under it. Nothing else. It feels so wrong. A headstone should have more. It should have a death date, it should have more things written about it underneath it.

He kneels down and presses down a handful of sunflowers he’d bought from a local flower shop on top of the grass under her headstone. He doesn’t know why, there’s nothing there. There’s nothing and no one to mourn.

 


End file.
